Rotary distributor



Aug. 4 19131.

RQ STEEN EcK ROTARY DISTRIBUTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 26, 1930 URGE,

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Patented ug'.y 4, 1931 UNITED STATES ROBERT STEENECK, or NEW YORK, i1. Y., Asistencia. To THE Iweerman UNIQN trami-A PATENT orties GRAPH COMPANY, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK ROTARY DTSTRIBUTOR Application led March 26, 1930. Serial No. 439,140.r

This invention relates to a telegraph system and more particularly to a ymethodot and apparatus for the transmission andreception-of groups of signals by means of synchronously operating, transmitting and receiving apparatus. y

In start-stop systems e. of telegraphy, the transmitting andV receivinggapparatus are normally stationary and 'are set into operation in unison, Vwhen it is desired to transmit a particular character or group of characters, by a starting impulse immediately preceding the first intelligence impulse, and after a predetermined number of intelligence i-mpulses have been transmitted7 the apparatus is again brought to rest by a stop impulse. Thefnumber of intelligence impulses Which may be transmitted between a starting and av stopping impulse is determined by the perfection of synchronization et the transmitting and receiving apparatus andas commonly employed, is limited to the number of impulses oi the code required to transmit a single character signal, usually live or six impulses.

Since in the start-stop system ot trans'- mission the transmitting and receiving apparatus are placed in step vvith each other at frequent intervals, a relatively Wide variation in speedof the transmitting and receiving apparatus is permissible, Vas compared to multiplex telegraph` systems in which the continuously rotating distributors must be maintained in very close synchronism. Thereforeq in start-stop systems employing a small number of intelligence impulses inter-l mediate vthe start and stop impulses, an or li nary electric motor provided With a .centrifugal speed regulator, may be employed.

However, in certain instances, in order to increase the raterof transmission, it is desired to transmit a large number ott intelligence impulses following each start impulseV mitted signals are not received upon the proper segmentv of the receiving liead.`

.v F or instance, in the' operation of auto# matic market quotation boards, by' means of signals of the Baudot code type, as describedv in 'copending application ot E. R. Vheeler etal, SerialNo. 422,148, filedk January 20, 1930, and entitled"Stoclr selecting and indicating system, it isrequiredv to transmit from one to three groups of intelligence sig-v nals for selecting the particular stock, the quotation of Which it is desired to post, then to transmit a single group lof impulses to se# Yeight groups of intelligence impulses and in Therefore, the postingV of a single stock may require the transmission of' -addition sixteen impulses, either start or.

stop, `which serve no function other than maintaining proper synchronization of the transmitting and receiving apparatus.V y

Tn order to reduce the time of transmission of each quotation, it is proposed to eliminate all but'the one stop impulse and one start impulse immediately preceding andfollovving the first and lastv intelligence impulses re-l f quired for the entire stock selection and indi cat-or operation'. It a sixunit codeis employed, that is, if eachfgroupv of intelligence or character selecting signals is composed ofsix impulses, aA total of forty-'eight impulses must be transmitted between each start and stop signalQ` This number may be reduced somewhat under certa-in conditions of operation. f 'i l' Rotary transmitters as heretoforey constructed havey consisted of a number of insu'T lated segments of equal Width and the receiv`V ing distributor of an equal number of-segments of less Width, Vsothat if perfect syn# chronism is obtained, only themidportionof thetransmitted impulse is received upon the receiving distributor segment. This permits' va certain vamount of deviation from speed of Ier:

Lemairf 3 stance ofthe general typedisclosed in patent toY G. R. Benjamin, #1,298,440, granted March 25, 1919, and entitled Automatic transmitter. The lirst segment 12, of ring 11, is connected to the tape transmitter by a conductor 20 and the starting magnet 17 is connected to the tape transmitter by a con-- ductor 21.

The arrangement is such that When thev tape transmitter is at rest, spacing battery, preferably of positive polarity, is connected to the conductor 2O and thence through the brush 15 and ring 10 to the line L. Upon operation of the tape transmitter, negative or marking battery is applied tothe lirst segment 12 and simultaneously the starting magnet 17 is energized to permit the vbrush 15 to traverse the rings of the transmitter and thereby transmit a start impulse from the segment 12 followed by seven'groups of intelligence impulses vin various combinations of marking and spacing signals, from the remaining segments.

The brush is brought'to rest the end ofv the cycle by engagement with the latch 16 at which time spacing battery is again applied to the segment 12 to transmit a rest or stop signal to the receiving apparatus.

Due to the progressively increasing length of the segments of ring 11 the transmitted signals yare of correspondingly progressively increasing periods. In Figure 4 I have shown Vthe manner in which the period of the sig.-

nals increases, each alternate impulse being shown, for convenience, of opposite polarity.

AThe receiving distributor Which co-operates With the transmittingk distributor, as shown in Figure 2, comprises a solid ring 22 and a segmented ring 23. The segmented ring has a number of segments 24 of equal length,

corresponding in number to the segments of,k the transmitting distributor, the receiving segments being spaced apart at progressively greater distances depending upon the rate of increase in Width of the transmitting segments. The position of thel segments of thev receiving distributor is such that if the reu the former would be position-ed 'midvvay of.

the corresponding segments of the latter. f

The receiving distributor is provided With a brush 25 WhichV is arranged to rotate in approximate synchronism with the brush 15 of the transmitting distributor. i In FigureV 5 the brush 25 is shown held upon the first segment by a latch 26 controlled by a start magnet 27.

The solid ring 22 may be connected to an incoming line L2 and the segments 24 may be connected to any suitable receiving device, adapted to be operated by the received signals as, for instance, the stocks-electing and indicator operating mechanism ofa, market quotation board. v Y

Therst or start segment28 is connected by a conductor 29 to the Winding 30-of a l site terminal of Which is grounded and the marking Contact 33 of the relay is connected to a grounded battery 34 so that upon the reception of a markingor start signal over thek line L, L2, the startmagnet 27 is operated to release the brush V25. A biasing Winding 35 restores the tongue of the relay to its spacing contact after the ltermination ofthe starting impulse, so as to permit the latch 26 toV be positioned in the path of the brush as itcompletes its c-ycle. The tongue of the relay 31 may also be connected, as by conductore, to the start-stop mechanism of the'decoding or selecting device. y

In the operation of the system the brushes 15 and '25 are released simultaneously `by means of a starting signal and pass over. their respective segments in substantial synchronism. If tie synchronism is perfect, the brush 25 passesV over its segment during the time that the brush 15 is passing over the Under certain conditions ofV operation it has been found that approximately 4;are required for each receiving segment and in such cases, assuming the thirty-six transmittersegments to vary in Width from 5o to 15o a deviation of about 1.5% may take place before the last segment of the receiving distributor vvill be suiiciently out of step. With the transmitting distributor to produce faulty reception.

In Figure 7 I have shown acurve A representing the condition when the segments of the transmitting distributor lare of equal Widths of 10", The maximum percentage las deviation from speed permissible for proper reception upon any segment is indicated by n aboutithetwentieth, kvvouldibe sufficiently out of steprto cause Vfaulty reception.

Gurve B .illustrates :the 4vrelation .between the individualfsegments andithespeed deviationt'orrthe caseiin whichthe-segments-of the transmitting .distributor l,inerease in ,equal amounts from 5 to i150..` .Inithis caseitnwill be noted fthe-teven 'with alspeed deviation of 1.5% proper .reception Ais received-'upon the entire .thirty-six segments.

:In order toobtain the maximum advantage oft-he present invention'the segments of .the transmittingdistributor may be increasediin geometrical progression, at such'rate that the increase in width oi each segmentI -eorrespondsexactlyfto :the extent to which each segment of the receiving distributor advances or recedes with respect tothe corresponding segment ot `the transmitting distributonxat the maximum allowable speed 4devia-tion. F or instance, it the lmaximum speed deviation is assumed to .be l and the Widthotl the segment of the receiving distributor' 40.,.the rst segment ofthe transmitting distributor must exceed lo by 1% yineaeh direction, .that is,.it must be equal Into the length ofthe segment ofthe receiving distributor plus twice the maximum deviation in travel of the transmittingand receiving brushes while the receiving distributor brushis passing overone segment.

The lengthSl of the'iirst segment may then be determined by the equation S1=s(l+2l) wherein. s is the length of-each of the segments of the receiving distributonand (Z is the percent maximum allowable deviation in speed of the transmitting and receiving distributors.

The-length of any segment Sa may be determined by the usual equations for geometrical progressions in which: thelirst term of the progression is (l-l- 2d) and the ratio of the progression is alsoV (li-2d). The equation for vthe length of any segment Sa of the transmitting distributorinay be expressed as ,follows:

'The'length 'Sa of the distributor ring in degrees up to the vend'ot-segment n Vmay be letermined by the equation deviation from speed is permitted the number of impulses Amay be increased to above iifty.

In Figure I haveshown a curvefcorrespending to that of 'Figure 4 but .in .which the successive impulseslincrease'in geometrical progressiomthe first impulse corresponding to a segment length of 4.170 Aand the last, toa segment'len'gth of about 19.5.

ln place'of having the individual segments increase in length. progressively, the segments maybe arranged in groups, the segments of eachy successive group being ot greater length thanthose oi the precedinggroups and inthe following claims wherein it is stated thatthe segments are of progressively increasing length, itis yintended to include:aconstru-ction in which either the successive individual segments. or the successive groups of segments are ot' progressively increasing lengths.

lt is obvious that similar results may ibe obtained byusing a transmitting distributor having segments of equal wid-th and operating tliefbrush Vat a speed which decreases,` during each revolution, from the rst to the last segment and other similar eXpedients maybe devised. Therefore, 'l do not desire tobe limited to the exact arrangement illust-rated and described-hut desire the :same to be conside-red in an illustrative rather than a limitiL rf sense and l contemplate all -suchfmodilieations and changes as come within the-scopeof the following. claims.

What l claimis:

l. A rotary distributor comprising a solid ring and a segmented ring, a line Wire conne-ctedv to said solid ring, za signal transmitter associated with said segmented ring, and a .brush arranged `to bridge said-rings, the segments oil' said segmented ring being l*of progressively increasingllengths over Aat least aportion of said ring, and spaced apart equal distance-s which .are-short compared with-the length o'j the segments, whereby when said brush traverses said rings signals offprogressively increasing .periods are transmitted lto saidline in. continuous succession.

2. A rotary distributor for a start-stop system ot 4telegraph'transmission comprising a distributor ringfhaving a plurality .of segments of increasinglengths in geometric procession iand a signal vtransmitter associated with-such segments whereby signals ofi progressively increasing period maylbe transmitted.

3. A telegraph transmitting systeincomprising a rotary transmitter having segments ot progressively increasing length, to `transmit signals `ot" progressively :increasing periods and a rotary-distributor operating'in approximate synchronism with said transmitterand .arranged toreeeive said signals, said distributor having segments ot substantiallyegual length, spaced apart progressively increasing distances, :whereby `exact each of said signals.

synchronization between the transmitter and distributor is not required.

4. A telegraph transmitting system comprising a rot-ary transmitter having segments of progressively incr-easing lengths, to transmit signals of progressively increasing periods and a rotary distributor operating in approximate synchronism with said transmitter and arranged to receive said signals, said distributor having segments of substantially equal length, spaced apart at progressively increasing distances, whereby exact synchronizationv between the transmitter Vand distributor is not required, and means for stopping said transmitter and distributor and starting them in unison at least once in each revolution thereof.

5. A telegraph transmitting system comprising a transmitter, means for setting-up predetermined signal combinations on said transmitter, means'for transmitting said signals with progressively increasing periods, and a receiving distributor operating in approximate synchronism with said transmitter arranged to receive a uniform portion of 6. A telegraph transmitting system comprising a transmitter, means for setting Vup predetermined signal combinations on said transmitter, means for transmitting said signal combinations with progressively increasing periods, a receiving distributor operating in approximate synchronism with said transmit-ter arranged to receive said signals, the segments of said distributor being spaced apart at progressively increasing distances corresponding to the increase in period of the signals and means for stopping said transmitter and distributor and starting them in unison after a predetermined number of signals have been transmitted and received.

7. A telegraph transmitting system comprising a transmitting and receiving apparatus adapted to operate in approximate synchronism, means for setting-up signal combinations on said transmitter and means for transmitting said signals with progressively increasing periods, the ratevof increase in period of the signals corresponding approximately to the maximum rate of deviation in speed of said transmitting and receiving apparatus.

8. A telegraph transmitting'system comprising a rotary transmitter and a rotary receiving distributor arranged to operate in approximate synchronism, said transmitter having segments of progressively increasing length and said distributor having segments of approximately equal lengths spaced apart at progressively increasing distances, the rate of increase in length of the segments of said transmitter and the spacing of the segments of said distributor being in geometrical progression.

9. A telegraph transmitting system comprising a rotary transmitter and a rotary rey ceiving distributor arranged to voperate in approximate synchronism, said transmitter having segments of progressively increasing length and said distributor having segments of approximately equal lengths spaced apart at progressively increasing distances, the rate of increase in length of the segments of said transmitter and the spacing of the segments of said distributor being in geometrical progression and corresponding approximately to the maximum rate of deviation in speed of said rotary transmitter and distributor.

10. In a telegraph transmitting system a rotary distributor having segments of substantially equal length spacedV apart at progressively increasing distances and means for transmitting signals of progressively increasing periods to said distributor.

11. The method of telegraph communica.-v

tion employing telegraph transmitting and receiving apparatus which comprises stopping said transmittingand receiving apparatus and starting the same in unison in predetermined cycles, operating said receivingl apparatus in approximate synchronism with said transmitting apparatus, transmitting a succession 4of telegraph signals of progressively increasing periods during each cyclev and receiving a uniform length portion only of each of said signals with said receivingapparatus.

12. A start-stop telegraph system comprising a rotary transmitting distributor and a cooperating rotary receiving distributor arrangedvto operate in vapproximate synchronism, one of said distributors having segments of progressively increasing length spaced apart at substantially uniform distances and the other of said'distributors hav: ing segments of uniform length spaced apart at progressively increasing; distances.

Y In testimony whereof I atix my signature.

ROBERT STEENECK. 

